So you want to get funded by an angel investor?

Dan Shapiro, an entrepreneur turned angel investor talks about the projects he has personally invested in after creating a portfolio of successful companies he has been a part of. He now spends as a source of much-needed capital for extremely early-stage startups.

While most stages of a venture investment cycle have broad parameters (i.e. MVP, traction, users, revenue), gaining monetary support from an angel investor is nearly 100% art and 0% science. This can be discouraging to many founders that believe they have the next great idea and no money to achieve this, but Shapiro gives a rough outline of how he and his angel peers approach potential investments, giving a three-bullet list of characteristics to qualify for a capital injection:

• Blow my mind away with your brilliant product
  

• Show me a team that’s so strong I can’t imagine you failing
  

• Demonstrate so much traction that you’re pretty much already successful
  

Having one of the three characteristics will attract the attention of angel investors around the country, and, with the help of that angel capital, the same can be said for early-stage venture investors. Now, we won’t be giving a full guide on achieving each of these, as it varies for each founder and their background, every startup and industry, and hundreds of other variables. Know that traction, innovation, talent, vision, and drive will always remain the core attributes for success, from getting funded by an angel investor to a deca-corn exit.

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